Overwhelmed
by ToucheDetective
Summary: When it comes to her, he sees the good in everything.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Takes place very early in season 5. Rating is for subsequent chapters.

* * *

She giggled as his lips tickled up the side of her ribs but drew her arm in self consciously when she realized what he was doing, suddenly feeling exposed even though she was already naked. "Why do you always insist on kissing that ugly scar?" she asked, more complaint than actual question.

He paused for a second, something shifting in his demeanor.

"This," he said matter-of-factly as he ran his fingers over the long line of scar tissue marring her left side, "is beautiful."

"Uh huh," she scoffed at him. She hated it. It wasn't at all like the small circle on her chest. That one didn't pull as much and was easy to cover with makeup. Sometimes she'd even use it as a boost of courage, a trick she picked up in therapy. Turn it into something you can use.

…_If I can survive a bullet to the chest..._

She had learned to live with that one but this one she hadn't quite figured out a way to accept.

He slid up next to her and propped himself up on an elbow. "Hey," he paused until she met his eyes, "I'm serious."

She frowned slightly but let him continue, wondering where he was going with this.

"This was made for one reason and one reason only - to save your life," he said, punctuating the last three words. "It's why you're here with me right now instead of..." His jaw clenched as he shut his eyes, not wanting to even imagine it.

Oh. She wasn't prepared for such a serious answer.

"Castle," she said, almost a whisper as she touched his face.

He took a calming breath, trying to find the right words. "You have two scars from that day. One gave you back what the other tried to take." He traced his finger over the small circle on her chest. "This one may be smaller but the one on your side gave you your life back. It gave us a chance. It's why you're here and it's a part of you now. That's what makes it beautiful and it's why I love every inch of it, okay?"

She cupped his face in her hands, the look of pure love in his eyes something she'll never tire of seeing. He doesn't see it as just a scar from her past or a sign of weakness but one of a second chance. Hope. For them.

Once again she's overwhelmed by him.

A quiet "Okay," was all she could manage as he leaned his forehead against hers. They both closed their eyes, content to just breathe each other in. She loves these little moments where they lose all sense of time. Just existing. Together.

They stayed like that for a while, noses softly rubbing.

A slight tilt of her head and their lips almost brushed, teasing him with the promise of a kiss. Her scent was pure seduction, a hint of sex mixed with coffee and Kate and _home_. He chased her smirk with his own.

Two can play that game.

He teased right back but only once before he grabbed her, delivering a devastating kiss and pinning her to the bed as he held himself up on his forearms. He twined both hands through her hair as they let out twin moans octaves apart but in perfect harmony. Their kisses were slow but thorough, steering the moment toward something more heated.

Knowing full well what he was about to unleash, he kissed her in that deliciously intoxicating way that never fails to divest her of all self control. Heat bloomed low in her belly, her whole body warming as she came alive beneath him.

Now he'd done it.


	2. Chapter 2

Her whole body undulated, hips rolling into his, seeking out much needed contact as she moaned into his mouth.

She needed more.

Her hands ran up the wide expanse of his back, hooking over his broad shoulders, fingers dug into the hard muscles there. She wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him down on top of her. Forcefully sinking into the bed, her body was now fully engulfed by his, delicious pressure all over she couldn't get if she flipped them over like usual.

He gently ran his hand over her hair, "You okay? I'm not squishing you?" he asked like always, knowing the answer but needing to make sure.

A throaty, "Mmmm," was all she said as she pulled his face back down and kissed him senseless, her fingers raking through his hair. Their mouths locked, pulling long, deep kisses, deeper than usual, driving each other higher until they had to pull back, breathing ragged. Their hands were frantic, everywhere. Grabbing, stroking, pulling, scratching, anything to get closer. They needed to be _closer_.

He dove for her neck, sucked and swirled his tongue just under the hinge of her jaw causing her inner muscles to clench around nothing as he nudged her entrance, her whimper desperate, wordless.

He buried his face in her hair, his voice raw with need, "Kate..." She shivered. "I want to be inside you, Kate," his lips and hot breath brushed her ear with every word.

Her eyelids fluttered, heat pooling between her legs at his confession. This not being their first time tonight, she didn't need his fingers to prepare her, she just needed _him_.

"Now, Castle. I need you _now_," she commanded breathlessly.

He lifted off of her just enough to slide his hand between them. Parting her folds, he found her slick and hot and so very, very wet. He let out a groan at the fact that she was dripping…for _him_. Never wanting to hurt her, he made sure she was ready by sliding one…then two thick fingers into her, stretching her as he rubbed small circles against her nub with his slick thumb, making her writhe.

"_Please,_" she begged, not needing any of that this time.

He throbbed at her plea for him as he dipped his fingers into her and coated himself with her arousal, tip poised at her entrance. She closed her eyes and bit her lip as he slid himself in agonizingly slowly, allowing her time to adjust. The air around them was thick with the smell of sex and the small, desperate sounds she'd never admit to making. It made him drunk on her.

He couldn't hold back any longer when he felt her inner muscles pulling him in deeper, her fingernails digging into the curve of his ass, begging him inside. Her name turned into a deep moan as he slammed the rest of the way in, her eyes flying wide open along with her mouth as she sobbed out his name, breathless.

She immediately fluttered around his length, her hips bucking involuntarily as he pulsed within her, the feeling of him filling her so completely bringing her close already. Wanting this to last longer than a few seconds, his jaw clenched and nose flared on an exhale as he stilled their movements, both panting.

Just like their bodies, their eyes connected, heavy with lust but something else too. Something much deeper...complex, boundless, terrifying, and wonderful.

Love.

They both _ached_ with it, the feeling overwhelming. She hadn't yet said it out loud but they both knew. It was written all over them, clear as day.

Keeping their eyes locked, he thrust his hips down at the same time she came up to meet his, completely in sync as always, the slick slide of him igniting every nerve he touched. He hit that elusive spot deep inside causing her back to arch, a throaty groan tearing its way out as her head fell back into the pillow.

Wrapping her up with his body, he held her as tightly as humanly possible, snaking his arms underneath her back as one hand came up to cradle the back of her neck. "God, I love you so much," he whispered almost silently into her hair, not wanting to push her into saying it back.

She _did_ hear it though, her body giving her away by clenching hard around him as a soft mewl escaped her lips.

The thought of separating their bodies unthinkable, they held each other close as he rotated his hips into her and she did the same, the angle causing his pubic bone to rub her perfectly, sending out sparks of pleasure with every thrust. Their sweat slicked bodies aided in their tight movements as he kept a steady rhythm. Her body tensed and breath quickened as she rapidly approached her peak, her fingernails scraping down his back. She clung to his huge frame as she let go on a strangled cry, her orgasm rippling through her in wave after wave of fire, her whole body set ablaze.

The raw sounds of her absolute pleasure, the sight of her face in pure ecstasy, the feeling of her body milking his, any one of these alone would have pushed him over the edge but together…his release was uncontrollable. Sealing his mouth to hers, he spilled into her in hot spurts along with a deep growl, the combination of sensations extending her own orgasm.

Gasping for breath and still trembling with aftershocks, she ran her fingers gently through his hair in time to their slow and tender kisses, bringing them both down from their high. Body spent, he couldn't hold himself up any longer and started to move off of her but she held him close, not wanting to part yet. He scooped her up in his arms and rolled them both, her face resting on his chest as he peppered the top of her head with kisses.

He knew she had heard him but he didn't care. It was something that wasn't going to change, whether she was ready to say it back yet or not. He would wait for her like he always did.

She didn't want to just say it back though; she wanted to tell him of her own volition. One day soon she would.

Neither of them suspected that day would be tomorrow morning over coffee when she couldn't wait another minute, her heart overflowing with a fact she was more certain of than anything else. She was completely in love… with Richard Castle.

As if reading her mind, he held her tighter, never wanting to let her go.

Lost in her own thoughts, the tips of her fingers drew lazy circles over his heart. She was thinking the words so intensely she unconsciously mouthed them into his chest,

"I love you, too."

The strong beat of his heart quickened underneath her hand.

* * *

_Thanks for reading!_


End file.
